Pune: PCMC Proposes To Collect Penalty User Fees From April 2023 Instead Of 2019
Sumit Singh
Pimpri, 30th June 2023: The penalty for user charges imposed on property owners in Pimpri-Chinchwad city will be waived. The municipal administration has submitted a proposal to the state government to approve the implementation of tax collection starting from April 2023, instead of 2019. This decision aims to provide relief to the common citizens.
The demand to waive the user fee and penalty has been made by BJP city president and MLA Mahesh Landge, along with all party representatives of the city. A meeting was held at Mahapalika Bhavan to discuss and make a policy decision in this matter. Commissioner Shekhar Singh, Additional Commissioner Pradeep Jambhale-Patil, Jitendra Wagh, Chikhali-Moshi-Charholi Pimpri-Chinchwad Housing Society Federation President Sanjivan Sangle, along with officials from the Federation and the concerned department, were present at the meeting.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had started collecting user fees from all properties in the city for solid waste handling and management. However, both property owners and public representatives have opposed this taxation. The Urban Development Department of the Maharashtra State Government issued a notification regarding the implementation of user charges on July 1, 2019.
However, due to administrative delays, the administration did not implement the collection of these charges for the past four years. It is important to note that common citizens should not be blamed for this delay. The tax amount was set at Rs 60 per month per property in the city, totaling Rs 720 per year. MLA Landge stated that the collection of “user fee and penalty” began on July 1, 2019, which was met with opposition from the city’s residents. He emphasized the need for the administration to consider this concern.
Another notification was issued by the state government on July 1, 2019, which allowed the administration to collect the tax in two phases over the past four years. However, this has caused financial burden on the common citizens. Due to administrative negligence, it is not feasible to recover the user fee with penalties from the past four years. Therefore, considering the wider public interest, it was suggested to cancel the four years of tax “penalty” and begin levying user charges from April 2023.
Commissioner Shekhar Singh has responded positively to this proposal and has sent it to the state government for further consideration.
It should be noted that society owners implementing the “Zero Waste” policy will be exempted from paying the user fee. In addition, President of the Society Federation, Sanjeevan Sangle, has requested the expansion of the exemption policy to provide property tax relief to environmentally friendly societies.
“The municipal administration should waive the fines imposed since 2019. The amount collected as fines from 2019 to 2023 should be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, the administration has agreed to consider expanding the property tax exemption scheme for environmentally friendly societies practicing zero waste. A proposal to this effect will be submitted to the state government. While we have achieved some success with our demands, we remain steadfast in our call for the abolition of user charges”, said BJP City President Mahesh Landge.
Join Punekar News Whatsapp Group, Telegram, Instagram And Twitter For Regular Update about Pune City And Pimpri-Chinchwad
